Housing facts vs fiction in West Van
Park Royal’s Gateway Residence towers
When Positive Voices recently informed residents that only 68 rental units had been built in West Vancouver over six years, we were accused by some of spreading misinformation.
We had urged residents to encourage mayor and council to approve the proposed studio apartment building at Clyde Avenue, which will bring 201 much-needed new rental units to the Park Royal area.
The correct numbers were 68 rental units on average over the four-year term of the previous council, we were told.
Strangely, it turns out that both numbers are true, but the difference is in approvals, which happen following council decisions, and completions, with often significant delays between the two.
DROP IN THE OCEAN
The North Shore News reported that 68 units had been built over the six years from 2015 to 2021, citing data from the campaign group Make Housing Central, in October 2022.
The District of West Vancouver confirmed the numbers, citing the Metro Vancouver Data Book 2022 (CMHC starts and completions survey).
Purpose-built rental housing completions
More than a quarter (29%) of West Vancouver’s households are renters, and we’ve long known that many tenants face growing risks of demo- or reno-viction. That’s because most of our rental housing stock is 50-60 years old, and the numbers clearly show that there’s been insufficient impetus behind creating new rental units.
While the Gateway Residences towers, completed in 2022, will eventually bring to market a total of 298 units, the ten-year average (2011-21) for West Vancouver has been just 34 units built per year.
When it comes to approvals, the previous council’s strategic plan set a target of 250 new units per year with 100 rental, 75 strata, 75 ‘missing middle’ and 50 seniors’ housing units.
All of those targets were missed, mainly due to council votes against a number of projects.
Annual housing approvals (2018-2022 council)
The combined total of rental units approved between October 2018 and October 2022 was 272. So over four years we got, on average, 68 approvals per year.
The Gateway Residences’ initial proposal for 203 units was approved before the 2018-2022 period, but the additional 95 units, approved afterwards, are included.
The project includes 138 permanent market rental units, 57 below-market rental units (for 20 years), 92 unsecured rental units (meaning they could be turned into condos in the future), and 11 district-owned supportive rental units.
In answer to questions around ‘vacant’ units Park Royal representative Rick Amantea told West Van council that the units were being released in a phased manner, a standard business strategy in the rental sector, and he expected that they would be fully occupied by the end of the year.
CORE HOUSING NEED
Positive Voices has also reported that at least 60% of renters living in dwellings considered unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable, or what is described as ‘core housing need”.
The Housing Needs Report figure (for 2016) was 2432 out of 4260 renter households (57%).
Things have only gotten worse following the pandemic, the subsequent rental price spike, and the cost of living or inflation crisis we’re in now.
TAKEAWAY
What all this tells us is that additional housing in West Vancouver takes an awfully long time to come to fruition, with rental often faring worse than strata condominiums.
Successive councils failed to green-light good proposals, while many projects in the pipeline have taken years to materialize.
West Vancouver has failed to address this unfolding crisis over many years.
Positive Voices believe we can and must do better.